The present invention relates to electronic calendar applications, and more particularly, to mobile electronic calendar applications that enable a user to navigate the time and timescale illustrated by a calendar display in response to user movements of a portable electronic device.
Advances in computing technologies have enabled smaller devices, such as mobile phones and tablets, to execute more sophisticated applications. As a result, users are able to perform many of the functions on their mobile phones and tablets that they previously performed on their personal computers and laptops. For example, users are now able to view websites, e-mail, and calendars on their mobile phones and tablets.
A drawback of smaller devices is their reduced display size. In order to maximize the display size of these smaller devices, touch screen interfaces are often used. The use of a touch screen eliminates the need for a separate keypad such that additional space can be dedicated to a display. In addition, touch screens eliminate the need for a pointer object (e.g., arrow or cursor) within the display. Although touch screens help to maximize display size on mobile phones and tablets, their small displays still present challenges to application developers.
Calendar entries may include dense amounts of information. Such information is easier to view and comprehend when viewed on the larger screen sizes that are typically found on desktop monitors and laptops. The much smaller screens on mobile phones and tablets make it difficult for a user to quickly find, navigate, and comprehend the dense information that may be included in some calendar applications.
For example, when opening a calendar timeline interface, a user initially views a time position (e.g., certain time and/or date) and may navigate in time from that time position. There are several ways to navigate a calendar application such as triggering a search, opening a calendar entry, or clicking on a particular date. Unfortunately, there is no method that allows a user to navigate a calendar based on detected movements of a portable electronic device. Thus, there is a need for a more navigable mobile calendar application that easily allows a user to navigate time position (i.e., hour, day, week, month, and year).